Put on the Stone Mask
by Sombra de Severus
Summary: Minerva's second year of teaching, she has a particularly withdrawn student named Severus. A story about Severus's childhood. (Largely influenced by H. L. B.'s story, And Yet He Flinched.)
1. The Stone Mask

_A/N: Been meaning to do this for a long time! So without any further ado……_

_Thanks for the idea! I was inspired by And Yet He Flinched, by H. L. B. Check it out! I hope I haven't treaded on your toes, but I have been thinking about a Snape-as-a-kid fic for a while, and your gave me just such inspiration!_

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Professor McGonagall looked out over her class. She was young, bright, and it was only her second year of teaching! She looked out at the first years who had arrived just last night. Smiling, she started memorizing faces and names. Everyone seemed a bit nervous, especially a dark-haired boy who sat in the back. 

_Severus Snape…_ she read off the roster. 

Oh well, some children were just shyer than others.

She began the class, and introduced herself as the Transfiguration teacher. 

"Does anyone have any questions?" she asked.

Severus raised his hand.

"Yes Severus?"

"What do we do in this class?" he asked softly.

The class burst out laughing. It had never crossed her mind that a child wouldn't know what transfiguration was. She checked her roster. He was wizard born, too!What parent wouldn't teach there child about transfiguration?

The class continued to laugh at him, and he looked at his hands.

"Never mind…" he said very, very softly.

"We transfigure things in this class. That means we turn them from one thing to another, such as turning a shoe into a flower, or vice-versa."

Severus looked a bit less nervous, now that he knew what the class was about.

They began with the first lesson. She taught them how to wave their wand in a way that would turn a rock into dirt.

The children set to work, each one concentrating intensely. One boy had it immediately, and sat with his hands folded staring at the wall blankly.

_There's one in every year…_ She thought.

The children's rocks seemed to be slowly getting softer, except for Severus. He was staring at his intently, biting his lip. His brow was furrowed, ad a tiny trickle of sweat ran down his forehead. With a sigh he sat back. He ran his hands through his hair and stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to try again.

After forty minutes, the whole class was done except for Severus. They were chattering quietly while he concentrated.

Professor McGonagall saw tears of frustration welling up in Severus's eyes. He blinked them away angrily. With a sigh, he relaxed into his chair.

_I hope he hasn't given up…_ She thought.

For another five minutes he tried to change the rock, but with no prevail. Finally, he began to grit his teeth and growl softly. As he tried and nothing happened, the growl grew louder. Her was finally roaring, and when he was screaming, he grabbed the rock and began beating it against the table.

"Why- won't- you- change- you- stupid- rock!!!!!!" He screamed between crushing blows to the table._(A/N: It was not my idea to have Severus suck at Transfigurations, but after reading a few fanfics with that theme, I fell in love with the idea. Thanx to whoever created it!)_

Minerva _(A/N: Too hard to keep saying Professor McGonagall)_ ran over and grabbed Severus's hand, he dropped the rock and looked up at her fearfully. The table was a mess. The rock had dug deep, splintered grooves into it and there were shards of the rock embedded into it.

Minerva looked at Snape, who was now cowering away from her. His head was down turned, he refused to make eye contact with her.

"Severus! You can ask for help you know! Don't destroy things because you are having trouble! All you have to do is ask…" She said gently. 

He brought his hands in front of his face as if shielding himself.

"I-I'm sorry… I really am… please… I'm sorry…" he said.

He seemed to be pleading, begging. But for what? She thought. Her eyebrows lifted a few inches. Did he think she was going to HURT him?

"It's ok Severus, just don't do it again. Next time, ask me for help." The bell rang, and the class left. Except for Severus. He seemed to be waiting for something. 

"What is it, Severus?" Minerva asked.

"Aren't you going to punish me?" he asked.

"No, it's all right. Go along now, before you're late!" she said.

He looked surprised and confused for a moment, but hurriedly grabbed his bag and left.

Minerva's eyes wandered to the table. She stared at the huge, deep grooves in the wood. How did one boy, especially one as small as Severus, manage to do THAT?

************************************************

The next day, Minerva looked forward to seeing Severus in class. She wanted to watch him, see his behaviors. She wanted to be sure that he was an abused child before he brought the subject up with Albus. _(A/N: No one really knows how long Albus has been headmaster, but I'm going to say that at least thirty years, which is approximately how old Snape is. I have no grounds for these, just personal opinion.)_

__He seated himself quietly. He traced his finger along one of the many grooves in his desk. He didn't look at anyone, didn't talk to anyone. His hair was very tidy and his robes had not a wrinkle. Minerva found this admirable in such a young child.

She patted him on the back as she walked by. At her touch, he drew away sharply and put his hands on the back of his head, as though to shield his skull. 

"I… I just wanted to say good luck today. Maybe you'll get the hang of it? I'm sorry I startled you…"

Severus smiled shakily.

What has that boy's parents DONE to him? I've never seen someone react that way to a pat on the back! Even children who have been abused haven't acted that way to me in the past!

Minerva's thoughts were slow from shock. What on earth?!

She began class. Today's assignment was to change a rock into sand, slightly different from yesterday's. She had to work in small increments.

Severus seemed to work in much the same mannerism as the day before. Just as tears of frustration were beginning to form in his eyes, Minerva walked over. He was so concentrated he didn't notice her. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he yelped loudly.

He looked confused for a moment, and blushed furiously as the class laughed at him.

"Do you need some help, Severus?"

He looked at her sideways, as if she must be joking.

"No, I'm quite all right. Thank you." He said.

She looked at him doubtfully.

"Are you sure?" she said, furrowing her brow.

"Yes, I am! Please… I don't want them to make fun of me! Besides, I can do it myself! I don't need help!" he said. An angry fire seemed to light up in his eyes. She nodded and walked back up to her desk. As she walked, she heard him softly say,

"I don't need anyone's help. Not that they care, anyways…"

************************************************

The Bell rang. Minerva was cleaning up when she saw Severus's sad little rock sitting on his desk. She walked over and picked it up. At least he hadn't attacked it this time. She smiled. He probably would have if she hadn't interrupted him. 

She looked at the desk, a dark line catching her eye. In childish handwriting, the letters "SS" were scrawled into the corner of the desk.

SS. Severus Snape.

She sighed. Anger problems AND defacing school property. What more could a teacher want?

Well, I'm sure he must be abused. And badly, too.

She remembered how he had shielded his head when she had patted him on the back.

Without hesitation, she went to visit Albus.

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"Minerva, I know it's hard for you to just sit by, but we have never had a complaint against the Snape family before! We may look into it, and possibly question his parents, but we can't take LEGAL action until something is proven." Albus rubbed his temples with his index fingers. _(A/N: This is true! They can't take legal action unless something is proven.)_

"Albus, we have to do SOMETHING! For God's sake, he shielded his head when I patted him on the back! That's not something to be taken lightly!"

"Of course not. I'll look into it. For now, don't pat him on the back anymore." Albus smiled wearily.

Minerva sighed huffily and left the room.

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Time flew by quickly. Soon, it was Christmas break. After watching Severus for a whole semester, Minerva was reluctant to let him go, he had shown several oddities that pointed to terrible abuse. And he still couldn't transfigure to save his life. The closest he had come, was to changing the shape of the pincushion, but not actually TURNING it into the hedgehog.

Nevertheless, she had to let him leave. They still had no proof. It would come soon enough, though.

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When holiday was over, the students were escorted back to school. On the welcome home feast, the first time the teachers had seen their students since break, Minerva looked towards the Slytherin table cautiously.

There he was, Severus. Sitting alone as usual, nobody would talk to the small, unsocial boy. He was looking at his hands on the table, and being overall unresponsive.

Minerva walked over to the table and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly and looked up at her. An ugly bruise showed beneath his cheekbone, and a black eye was healing. 

"Lord, Severus! Are you alright? What happened?"

Severus looked away. He couldn't seem to look at anything for longer than a few seconds, and his eyes darted around uneasily.

"Erm.. I'm fine." He said.

"What happened…?" Minerva asked.

He glanced at her, then looked away. His hand came up to touch the bruise on his cheekbone.

"I… um, well…"

"Yes?" she thought maybe he would give her some evidence to have his family investigated.

"Oh, well, I… I fell down the stairs." He looked at her, as if hoping she believed him.

"Are you sure?" she knew it sounded silly, but she also knew he was lying.

"Yes of course." He conjured up a small, airy chuckle. "Heh… you know how those old rickety staircases can be…"

"No, tell me…"

"Oh, you know. They just shake and twist all over the place. It's easy… it's easy to lose one's footing on it. And hey, falling down two flights of stairs is no party…" he smiled weakly.

She smiled stiffly and walked back to the staff table. 

She shot a knowing glance at Dumbledore. He had seen her talking to the battered child. He shook his head and looked away sadly.

She knew he would do something if he could.

************************************************

After a while, his bruises healed and disappeared. But the scars in his mind wouldn't be so easy to get rid of. Every so often after a Hogsmeade visit, he would have a fat lip, or even cuts on his face and arms. Minerva finally alerted some wizard authorities. They told her they would investigate, but came up with nothing.

"How can you come up with nothing? SOMEBODY is hurting the boy! He came back from Christmas vacation with a black eye, for god's sake!" She shouted at the Ministry officer.

"We think he had just made a few rivals back home. Kids, I mean. All kids go through the fighting stage. It'll pass."

"It's been going on for more than half a year!"

"Some kids don't grow out of it for years! It's nothing to worry about, I promise."

But it was.

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**Easter Break.**

****Severus peeked through his bedroom door. A tiny finger of light pushed in and gently made it's way into his dark room. He brushed his hair out of his eyes. The hallway seemed clear. But was it really? You could never be sure. Not here, anyways. He wished he was at Hogwarts. In fact, he wished he never came home. The only civil being in his family was his brother. His mother ignored him and his father punished him.

_It's my own fault. _Severus thought. _I am just a naught child. A stupid child. And I shouldn't get in his way._

He took a step out his door. It creaked a little and he paused. His eyes closed sharply, he waited for a hand to come down. None came. With a deep, muffled sigh, he began to tiptoe out of his room. It was a little after two am. His father kept the light on in the hallway so that if he caught Severus out after 9, he wouldn't be able to hide in the shadows. Severus made his way down the two flights of stairs. The kitchen gleamed ahead of him. A beacon of hope! Food…

His stomach turned, but it didn't growl. His body had long ago found that a growling stomach meant punishment, especially if he wasn't supposed to be awake.

He hadn't eaten in days. Ever since father came home and found Severus doing his homework in the living room. 

_"No homework down here! I don't want to see your filthy idiot schoolwork! We all know you have no talent as a wizard! Take your things upstairs and come back down for your punishment!"_

_Severus grabbed his books and ran upstairs. He stopped himself from heaving in terror. Fear was a weakness. Pain was a weakness. Show no pain, Severus, show no fear. Be strong. Put on the stone mask. He cannot hurt you, you are strong. He is the weak one. _

_He came back downstairs. His father smiled cruelly, and prepared his favorite weapon of punishment. _

_Severus bled for days before the wounds scabbed over._

__Severus listened at the kitchen door. Good! The house elf wasn't in there.

He pushed the door open, just a little. He crept in, and opened the pantry door. He grabbed a bag of potato chips hungrily. Ripping it open, he ate a few handfuls. 

He reached in to get some more, but a hand grabbed his wrist.

He looked up at his looming father.

"You're not allowed out of your room after nine, boy. Go into the living room. It's time for your punishment."

Severus walked out. His mind was alive, but filled with terror. He winced at the deep gashes across his back that had taken so long to scab. They would be re-opened tonight, and new ones added alongside them. They would probably get infected.

He sighed.

His father walked into the room.

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Minerva was at the gate this time, when the children were taken off the train. She helped them into the carriages and made sure she rode in the one with Severus. He sat down uneasily, as he did every time he came back from a break. His face seemed overly-pale and very weary.

_Has he lost WEIGHT?! He looks at least twenty pounds lighter than before he left, and he is a skinny boy as it is!_

__His face seemed to mask over as he sat down. Minerva wasn't looking directly at him, but she noticed that his face had shifted from weary to absolutely neutral with no emotion displayed, as he had sat down. 

When he was situated, he shifted uncomfortably in the seat every few minutes. He scratched his back, and his face went neutral. 

He felt a searing pain when he had scratched. The deep black scabs across his back itched, but when he scratched them, they hurt like nothing the other children had to feel. Of course, he had felt them before, they weren't uncommon.

Mask of Stone, Severus… he thought to himself.

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It was warm! Spring had come, and it was a beautiful Sunday. Nobody was going to Hogsmeade today, though, they were staying to swim in the lake. However, a few of the students began to tease the giant squid, and they were all banished from the lake.

Dumbledore knew, though, that if he just told them they couldn't, the naughtier kids would go into the lake anyways, so he zapped the Quidditch field into a huge swimming pool that would disappear once classes began again tomorrow.

Severus sat by the edge of the pool. He took off his shoes and dangled them into the water. He couldn't go in. 

Besides… he thought… I don't like to swim anyways.

He lied, even to himself.

His feet moved with the waves of the splashing kids. He laid back and stared up at the clouds.

Donkey… Telephone… Circus tent… broomstick… hippopotamus… 

"Severus! Hey, Severus!"

Severus sat up quickly to his name being called. For a split instant his mind was wild with fear, but he remembered that he was at Hogwarts and his senses calmed. He looked out to see a Gryffindor boy in his year out there. The boy squinted at him, he wasn't wearing his glasses. In the water, the boy's messy black hair stood up even more so than before. The boy's name was… what was it? James Potter! Oh yes, that's his name.

Severus had some classes with him. He waved at the boy. The boy grinned and waded over to him

"Hey, come on in!" he said. "Really, the water's as warm as can be, and you must be sweltering in those black robes!"

Severus smiled at the boy. He wished he could.

"Oh, that's alright. I don't… I don't care to swim. But thank you anyways." He said softly.

"Aw, c'mon! You can't hate swimming that much! And besides, I'll bet you aren't so quiet when you are having fun!" James smiled broadly.

"No, really. I'm alright. I don't like to swim."

James shrugged.

"Okay then. Suit yourself. But don't say I didn't ask you!" James swam away.

Severus heard some rustling behind him. He looked over to see two other Gryffindor boys, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Remus frowned. "How come you don't want to hang out with James? He went out of his way to talk to you!"

"It's not that I don't. I just don't like to swim is all." Severus said softly.

"Aw, C'mon!" Sirius smiled.

"No, I don't like to swim." Severus said each word separately, as if it would help them to understand him more.

The two boys ran up and each grabbed one of his arms. They hoisted him up roughly. He kicked his feet out to catch his balance. He felt one of the gashes on his back re-opening with their roughness. Pain made his mind dull.

They smiled at him, and he saw their faces in a blur.

"Please…" he said weakly. "No, don't, please…"

They looked at each other, smiled, and threw him into the pool. The pain was unbearable. As he had hit the bottom, all of the dozen or so gashes on his back had cracked open and the chlorinated water has pushed its way into the raw skin below.

He managed to pull himself out of the pool, crawling on the muddy grass.

He heard in his ears a high pitched scream. He couldn't see, the pain was so bad. If there was something worse than the pain of being punished, it was this. Chlorine in the wound. The scream got louder and hoarser. He looked around to see what was making it, but his eyes were dark and foggy from pain and pool water. He couldn't stand up.

He felt himself slowly curl into a ball.

With a jolt he realized that his mouth was open. He tried to close it, but something was pushing it open. It was then that he realized the scream was coming from him.

NO YOU FOOL! He screamed in his mind. NO! DON'T SHOW THE PAIN! DON'T LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE IN PAIN! YOU'RE WEAK! YOU WEAK, WEAK FOOL!

But no matter how he screamed in his mind, he could not halt the scream from his mouth. He was screaming loudly, loudly. Kids stopped what they were doing, as did teachers who happened to be outside. They all looked towards the tiny huddle on the ground. Wet, shuddering, and curled in a ball. The scream coming from it was unbearable.

Remus and Sirius looked at it, horrified. What had they done?!

Severus tried to move. He slowly uncurled himself, and tried to crawl away. He could not halt the scream. He couldn't even feel it. But he could hear it, God he could hear it. Louder and more horrible than anyone.

As he moved, he felt the wounds on his back rubbing onto themselves, and electric pains shot through him. He had never felt something so terribly painful in his life. Even his father had never punished him in such a way.

Finally, the pain of the re-birth of thirteen bloody gashes on his back became too great. Everything went black.

************************************************

Teachers crowded around the unconscious student. He sat in a wet heap on the ground. His hair was plastered to his face, which was twisted into an expression of pure agony. To their horror and disgust, blood began to seep across the ground from him. 

The students screamed and Remus and Sirius just stood there in shock.

There was a LOT of blood. McGonagall ran up, and shooed the students away. She checked his head for wounds, but that's not where they were coming from. She turned him over and lifted up the back of his robes. There was blood covering the entire back of his shirt and pants (which he was wearing underneath). She gasped softly and removed the robes completely. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing.

The students had inched forward so they could see, even though they had been told to leave.

Minerva pulled his shirt off and gasped loudly. Many of the students screamed. Covering his back were terribly deep, painful-looking gashes. They seemed to have been re-opened, and blood was positively POURING from them.

She conjured up a stretcher quickly, and placed the limp boy's body on it. His head lolled to one side. The face had relaxed, and it looked more peaceful than Minerva had ever seen it before. She folded up his robes and the t-shirt he had been wearing and placed the in a small basket on the end of the stretcher. 

Dear god… she thought. He can't weigh more than seventy pounds…

He was still bleeding profusely, and it was beginning to drip through the cloth bottom of the stretcher. 

A very shaken-up teacher pushed the stretcher towards the school jerkily. He nearly tripped, and when they realized this, they sent another teacher to help him.

The students were standing in utter mesmerized silence. Some of the first years were crying. Who had done that to a small boy like Severus?

They couldn't comprehend that his father had 'punished' him. Remus and Sirius stood together, completely isolated from the rest of the school. Slowly, they walked forward. They were looking at the teachers in utter confusion. The teachers walked away. They had no more answers than the students did. 

Remus watched them walk away. Slowly, his eyes moved the large pool of blood on the ground.

It was deep red…

He walked over. Slowly, he kneeled down and touched it. It was still warm.

************************************************


	2. You Might Get Hurt

Severus woke up. It was dark. The searing pain in his back was gone, mostly. A dull ache had replaced it. He looked around, but the room was unfamiliar. 

"Father?" he whispered in a sleepy daze. "I'm sorry… please…" He drifted into a state of half consciousness, speaking as images of the past flashing before his eyes. "Please father… tell me… what've I done?" Pictures of a previous punishment plagued him, eating away at him.

"No, father, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he sobbed, curling into a ball. He whimpered softly, and fell into a deep sleep, tears scalding his cheeks.

Minerva sat in the waiting room. She had been awakened by the boy's cries.

A single tear rolled down her face. Who would commit such atrocities to a child? And what kind of a beating had he taken to get such great, bloody gashes?

************************************************

He woke up. His was awake, but he kept his eyes closed. He took in a deep, deep breath. He expected pain, but only a dull resounding ache effected him.

He took another breath where one might moan. He slowly brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. He dropped his hands weakly. He was surprised he wasn't dead, after the pain from yesterday.

He was tired to the marrow of his bones. He felt weak, and supposed that the nurses had been unable to replace the lost blood.

Blood always came. Any pain he felt brought blood, that was just how his father was.

He swallowed heavily. Finally, he opened his eyes and blinked, the light blinding him. As he continued to blink it faded, and finally, he turned his head.

He cringed as he saw someone standing there.

He was about to say _Father,_ but he stopped himself when he realized it was a teacher.

"Professor McGonagall? Why are you here?"

"Severus. Yesterday, you fell in the pool, and passed out just beside it. Deep slashes were discovered on your back. Do you have any idea how they got there?"

She saw him reach back and run his hand along his recently healed back.

He turned to her, forgetting his mask.

"It was my fault." He said bluntly. He couldn't think of any excuses just yet.

"What on earth do you mean?" she asked, taken aback.

"It was…" he said. He was starting to panic, the fear crawling up his throat like a spider.

"Yes?"

He couldn't think of anything. His head swam.

_Am I crazy?_ He thought. His mouth was speaking, though he didn't even know what he was saying. The words weren't related to his actual train of thought.

"Severus!" He snapped to attention. "Slow down, Severus. I can't understand you… now… please… tell me who hurt you like this."

"Me!" he gripped the blanket in his hands, knuckles white.

"It was me, ok?! It was my fault! MINE! Leave me alone!" his voice rose in fear.

Minerva looked down at him. Tears were streaming down his face, though she didn't think he knew.

"Go-away-leave-me-alone…"he rambled again and again. Finally he leaped out of the bed. He had to get away, somehow!

"It was all my FAULT!" he screamed, clutching his head as though it might disappear if he didn't.

Minerva tried to stop him. She tried to comfort him, to talk to him, but he recoiled from her, shrinking back.

"Don't talk to me! Leave me alone! Just stay away, stay away from me!" He screamed, his voice loud enough to wake the school.

Minerva heard the nurse rushing in with Dumbledore. For an aging man he sure moved fast! In the commotion, he wasn't thinking of who this was that he was dealing with, and obviously abused child. He made a mad grab for Severus. He was too slow though, and the boy's fear had overcome him, making him wild.

Before anyone else could 'attack' him, he bolted out the door, so fast that his toes barely touched the floor.

He was so weak though. He had barely enough blood in him to function, much less run for his life.

Before too long he slumped to the floor, unable to go any further.

_My fault…_ he thought, before darkness blanketed him yet again.

************************************************

They found him quite far away. They wouldn't have found him if it hadn't been for the students. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter had found him in a heap on the way to Quidditch Practice. They had carried him back to the hospital wing, figuring something bad had happened.

They offered to help out, but the Nurse wouldn't have it. They were sent away, and had to settle for watching James at Quidditch practice.

************************************************

Minerva looked at the boy huddled under the blankets. His breathing was shallow, and every now and then he would cry out from his sleep of nightmares.

When he finally woke up, he wouldn't speak to anyone. He wouldn't even show emotion. He had put on the stone mask.

************************************************

It was nearly summer vacation. Severus had been well enough to leave the Hospital wing, but he still wasn't speaking to anyone.

When other students looked at him, all they saw was a shell of what once was another child, His face was dull now, void of everything. He never, ever spoke.

James knew he was still there, though, in his mind. He was still alive… He could see it in Severus's eyes. They were bright, intelligent, and alert. James wished there was a way to bring back the old Severus. Nobody deserved this.

************************************************

Minerva and Dumbledore were scheming. The authorities had been alerted of the gashes on Severus's back, but the wounds had been healed before they had examined the boy, and they told the school that there was no evidence of the gashes ever having been there. They looked past the scars that covered his battered body.

So they schemed. There had to be a way to catch Severus's father, but HOW?

They decided n an old muggle trick. A hidden camera. But with… slightly different capabilities.

While Severus was sleeping, they put a spell on him. Basically, everything he experienced would be transmitted to a special room.

Whoever was in the room would see, hear, and feel what had happened to Severus.

"Where is this room, Albus?" Minerva asked after they had performed the spell.

"It's the old broom closet in the dungeon."

"Wait, then how will we be here? I know I don't stay at the school over Summer holiday."

"It will all be recorded. We will have to wait until school resumes before we can view his summer. Even then, it will take months to view them all. And yes, we do have to view them all."

Minerva nodded. Did she really want to live a summer through Severus? Did she really want three months of beatings, during her coffee breaks?

She shook her head. _It's not about what I want._ She thought.

************************************************

School was in! Finally! Minerva watched her students file in. She had yet to view Severus's summer, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

He had gotten rid of the permanent mask, which was great. But he walked with an almost undetectable limp, and every time he walked somewhere, the mask drew over his face.

Minerva had figured out that he wore the mask when he was afraid, or hurting. She had no idea that the mask had been up virtually all summer. 

************************************************

Dumbledore led her to the room. She took a deep breath and stepped in. As soon as she did, she became him, walking to his own front door. He rang the bell and the house elf answered it. He walked in to find his father reading the paper at the kitchen table.

"Why aren't you at that damned school of yours?!" his father snapped.

Minerva felt Severus's heartbeat speed up.

"S-Summer holiday…" he stuttered.

"How did you get home? I didn't pick you up!"

"I walked, father." Minerva gasped. He had walked from the train station to his house? That was too long for a small boy carrying a heavy trunk to walk!

"It's all right, father. I know you didn't mean to forget about me…"

He realized he probably shouldn't have said that.

"You stupid fool! What do you think you're talking about?! You don't KNOW anything!" his father shouted, throwing the newspaper at Severus. It hit him in the eye, but he didn't show that his eye was shooting pain through his head.

'I'm sorry Father. You're right." Severus said softly, although his mind was screaming in outrage.

"DON'T SPEAK TO ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" his father shouted.

Minerva gasped.

"Go into the living room, boy. I'll be in to punish you. His father's eye glinted cruelly.

Minerva held her breath. What kind of punishment did he mean?

Severus walked into the living room. He took off his shoes so not to soil the rug. He put his trunk in the hallway. When he came back, he could here his father 'preparing' in the kitchen.

He walked in, grinning. He had his favorite weapon in hand.

Minerva gasped. He was holding a long, thin strip of metal. It looked sharp and it shined coldly. Was he going to beat his SON with that?!

She cried out as Severus was kicked in the knee, knocking him to the floor. She couldn't believe it hurt so much. His father had kicked him very hard! He took another kick to the stomach. He pulled himself to his knees dizzily.

_I think he cracked my leg…_ Severus though. Minerva realized that this was why he limped.

"Take of your shirt, you little freak!" his father yelled.

Severus began to unbutton his shirt. His father kicked him again. 

"Faster!" he shouted.

Severus managed to get his shirt off.

He father pushed him to his hands and knees, and began whipping him with the sharp metal. Severus didn't make asound, but his mind was getting foggy, and black spots danced on his eyes.

Minerva was crippled from the pain Severus was enduring. She would have passed out long ago, had it really been her being beaten. However, Severus was still conscious, so she couldn't pass out.

Severus saw blood spraying over him. It dripped down his sides with every strike, and on impact, tiny speckles of blood appeared on his father's hands and ace.

Finally, Severus lost consciousness. Minerva stopped feeling pain, and she left the room, before Severus woke back up.

Dumbledore looked at her questioningly. She burst into tears and bolted.

He raised his eyebrows. It must be a very, very bad case, he thought. He walked in.

A bit later he stumbled out nauseously. He had experienced the next days beating, very similar to the one Minerva felt, only the wounds from the day before were already hurting him, and this made the pain tenfold before Severus finally lost consciousness.

He slowly crept up to his bedroom, where he slept, out of sheer exhaustion, and a need to escape the real world. He dreamt dreams of deep crimson on a white carpet. 

************************************************

The next day, Minerva looked at Severus a bit differently, as she would every day, viewing more and more of his fortitude and courage.

After class, she asked Severus to stay a few minutes.

He stood there edgily, with untrusting eyes.

She smiled at him. He seemed to feel a little less nervous.

"Severus," she said. He smiled shakily.

"What've I done, Professor?" he asked. She remembered the night in the Hospital Wing when he had asked that question in his sleep.

_"Please father… tell me… what've I done?"_

"It's not about what you've done, Severus." She said comfortingly. :It's about what's been done to you."

He seemed uncomfortable.

"W-What do you mean?" he asked softly. 

"Could you lift up the back of you shirt, Severus? I never got to see if those slashes on your back healed well."

"I'd rather not…" he seemed uneasy.

"Why's that?"

"They healed fine. Besides, they were my fault." He seemed more confident.

_He's thought up an excuse, _she thought_. Why is he protecting his father?_

__"How were they your fault?" she asked pointedly. I shouldn't have taunted the Hippogriffs." He said.

Minerva saw that he was gripping the back of his robes so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Hippogriffs?" that was a good excuse. The slashes could have come from a Hippogriff, if they hadn't been from his father.

"Father took me to a Hippogriff farm on Easter break. I was injured, but to ashamed to tell him."

"Where the stairs you fell down also at this Hippogriff farm?" she snapped, fed up.

"No! Those were at my house!" he started to look scared. He knew she didn't believe his excuses.

"Why are you lying to me, Severus?"

He stared at her blankly.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Severus, I know that it's your father that does this to you. I know that he calls you names and whips you with the metal. Why do you lie to protect him? We can't help you until you tell someone what he does! We have no evidence until you tell us!"

He looked horrified. That was the first time she had ever seen him show fear without the mask, besides the time in the Hospital wing.

"How do you know?" he whispered, his eyes mortified.

"I just do. To stop him, you have to step forward!" She didn't know whether saying those things was a good move or a death wish. She was inexperienced in this kind of behavior.

"You don't know…" he whispered. The he began to shout. "You don't! You don't know anything! You don't know anything about me or my family! I can take care of myself! I don't need help from anyone! I'm not a coward! I'm not that weak! You just…" he began to choke on his words as he held back sobs. "You just don't know…" he whispered. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his robes. He grabbed his books and turned towards the door, but stopped in his tracks.

The next class of students were standing in the doorway. James, Remus and Sirius at the front of the crowd. They had heard the entire conversation.

They stood there dumbly, mouths hanging open. They looked disgusted at the idea that someone would whip their child with a strip of metal.

Severus took one step backwards. His eyes shook, and his mouth hung open in horror. His secret was out, the whole world would know it now. They wouldn't treat him as an equal… they would think of him as a coward for being unable to fight back at his father.

He backed away from them. He ran into the table with a crunch. Her grimaced as a tiny trickle of blood began to run down his back and trip to the floor.

Soon, the tiny trickle, from one crunched wound, had accumulated in a puddle on the floor, although Severus didn't know it.

He dropped his books, which scattered across the floor. He felt his back with his hand. When his hand came back smeared red, his hand began to shake.

He jerked his head to look at the pool of blood on the floor, and as he did so, his foot caught in it and hi slipped, crashing to the floor.

He seemed to be in extreme pain, though not nearly so much as at the pool. A smear of blood was on the ground where he had fallen. A few more of his cuts had been pulled open when he fell. He was glad there wasn't chlorine in them this time. And not nearly so much blood.

He pulled himself up, a drop of blood dripping from his finger.

He stared at them, and they stared back. He saw pity in every face. He felt humiliated, weak. He felt like the lost puppy t hat couldn't fend for himself.

"Nothing," he whispered, breaking the silence.

"You know nothing about me. Nothing…"

He blinked. The whole sequence had been only a few minutes. Why did it feel longer?

He limped towards the door. Some cringed away from him, and some reached to help him.

"No!" he shouted at those trying to help. "Leave me alone! Don't ever touch me!" he snarled.

They stared at him. He pushed his way through and ran down the hall.

James ran after him, and after a little while, Severus tripped and crashed to the ground.

James ran over and tried to help Severus back up. Severus pushed him away weakly.

"I don't want your help!" he growled, a fingerprint of blood smeared on his chin.

"Why not?" James asked softly.

"I don't need you, or father, or anybody. I can take care of myself!"

"Please let me help you…" James pleaded.

"No. I'm not weak. I'm not the weak one, he is. I can take care of MYSELF." He repeated. "I have been doing it my whole life!"

"I know you can. But do you really want to?" James asked, sitting down on the floor. Severus sat there awkwardly, not really able to stand up. 

"No, I don't. But that's how it has to be. Just leave me alone."

"Why does it have to be this way?"

"Because. I don't want to bring everyone down with me…" He whispered. He felt strong hand lifting him up, and he looked to see a few teachers lifting him. 

"Stay away from me James. You'll only get hurt." He called as they began to carry him away. They seemed to think he couldn't hear them.

"Jesus Christ, he's light!"

"Has he lost weight?"

"He can't be much more than 65 pounds!"

"What on earth has he been eating?"

Severus grinned at James. He seemed to be amused by this, but James looked horrified.

"What've I been eating?" he whispered to James, as they walked away with him. "Not much."

************************************************


	3. Incident At The Three Broomsticks

_(A/N: I don't really need to say "Minerva stepped into the room" every time I have a sequence from Severus's summer, do I? You'll be able to figure it out on your own, right? I hope so, because it's too tiring to keep saying that, and it's boring for the reader, too.)_

_************************************************ _

He had awoken a few hours after the punishment. He was still in the living room, red on the carpets all around him. His father would clean that up soon enough.

Wincing, he tried to stand up. No luck. There was no possible way he would be able to walk upstairs. He began to crawl slowly out of the room. Every so often he had to stop and take a break, because of the pain. He finally reached the stares, and anger flared up within him at the fact that he had to crawl on his hands and knees when other children just had to go to their rooms.

Sighing, he crawled up the stairs, painfully. Every time his climbed a step, his back burned like fire.

He reached the top and felt a single drop of blood trickle down his back. It was almost a comfort to feel them blood. If he bled it meant he was still alive.

He pushed his door open and stood up just long enough to lock the door. He fell to the floor with a dull thump. He crawled over to a small pile of soft pillows he kept on the floor of his closet where he slept when the punishments were this bad. He pulled the door of his closet shut and brought a soft blanket over his bare skin. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep.

_It's not fair._ He thought. _He should at least give them time to heal. They never get better, reopened whenever I get in his way._

He almost shrugged, but stopped himself. That would hurt.

Well, not all the time. He doesn't always use the whip… there was the time he pushed me down the stairs. Rickety, indeed.

~Minerva shook her head. He HAD fallen down the stairs, though not out of clumsiness, as he had led her to believe.~

Or when he locked me in the storm cellar for two months. That wasn't so bad, except that I didn't have any food. I didn't like having to eat the rats.

He shuddered at the memory.

The worst was probably when he almost strangled me… well, I almost died anyways. He did chicken out at the last minute. It was painful to breath again after that… there were fingerprints on my neck for weeks.

~Minerva saw a flash of a memory. A pain so intense that screamed were impossible. A looming father laughing while he son writhed on the ground in a seething pain.~

_Crucio…_ he thought.

He stared blankly for a while, and eventually blessed sleep took him as far away from his home as he would get that summer.

************************************************

Weeks passed. Severus wouldn't talk to the teachers, but he did seem to open up, at least a little, to James Potter. The boy visited Severus daily.

Albus had walked into the Hospital Wing only a day or so after the students had learned of Severus's family situation. He saw that James Potter was visiting, and he stepped into the waiting room, listening in without trying to.

"I don't want to talk about Father." He heard Severus say.

"But, Sev, maybe I can help! How often does he hit you?"

"Hit me? He hasn't _hit_ me in ages. That's kiddy stuff, I haven't been hit since I was seven."

"Oh Sev, you know what I mean. How often does he hurt you?"

"Its not so bad… usually it hurts after. And he isn't always so severe."

"That's not what I think." James had crossed his arms stubbornly.

"What do you know!?!"

"I know that you've passed out twice at school due to long, bloody gashes that just seem to appear on you after every holiday!"

Severus only sighed.

"C'mon Sev. You can tell me! I'm your friend."

"I suppose… well, he only punishes me when I do thinks that are wrong."

"What are you talking about? You can't have done anything so wrong as to get your back all torn up!"

"He doesn't ALWAYS do that, you know! It's not so bad as you think!"

"You know how I get punished, Severus? I get grounded. Or extra chores. Or they take away my allowance. But they never hurt me, they never hurt me, Severus. And neither should your father!"

"You just have it easy. He is only preparing me."

"For what?!"

"The war. He says that there will be a giant war someday soon, and that the intelligent ones will fight alongside us for the glory of the one he calls the 'Dark Lord'. I don't know who he is or what he does, but he must be pretty great or he wouldn't have so many followers."

"That's bull. There isn't such a person, and there won't be a war! And NOBODY deserves what he does to you!"

"Well, I guess you just see things differently than me."

"Why? Do you like it?"

"No! It's just… hm. Look, I can beat him. I can do it myself. And I don't need teachers and kids getting in my way! That will only show him that I am weak and that I need others to protect me!"

"Severus, he's brainwashed you! You have to tell someone, and not me, because I can't do any more than you can. They can stop him! You need someone who can help you!"

"Needing help is a weakness."

"No, needing help is a human right. Don't become a mindless drone, Severus! You can still save yourself, there's still time! Please, just tell someone. If not for yourself than for me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I could have saved you if you had let me tell someone. Don't get yourself hurt, Severus."

Albus saw James leave. He walked into the room.

"Hello, Headmaster!" Severus said. He was beginning to really like the old man. He didn't know why, but he was never the least bit afraid of Dumbledore, except that time in the Hospital Wing. The only other person he wasn't afraid of was James. They were the only two people in the world who had ever shown kindness to him, other than Professor McGonagall, but she seemed scared of Severus, so he didn't feel comfortable around her.

"Hello, Severus. I came to see how you were doing!"

"Excellent, actually. When will I be able to go to class again?"

"How does tomorrow sound to you?"

"That would be wonderful!" he smiled broadly. Sitting around bored him out of his mind, and all it did was make him think about home.

"May I see you back?" Albus sat down in a chair next to Severus's bed.

"Um, I'd rather you didn't…" Severus was uneasy with anyone looking at his back.

"Why not?"

"I really don't like it…"

"Please Severus? I really need to check your condition."

Severus sighed. He took of his pajama shirt and clutched it to his chest nervously. He ducked his head as Dumbledore examined his back.

Albus furrowed his brows. There were a lot of scars. Long, tattered scars of wounds nearly healed, but not quite. Wounds healed badly. His heart filled with sadness at the boys ragged back.

Oh Well. Soon enough they'd have his father and they'd never have to worry about it again. Tomorrow was Friday, and then a Hogsmeade weekend. Getting out of the school would be great for the boy. 

************************************************

The next day was a breeze. But Saturday brought trouble.

Severus went to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, as usual. He saw James, but James was sitting with a young girl named Lily Evans, and he decided not to disturb them. Instead he sat down in an empty booth. He sat and relaxed for the first time in many nights.

He felt a sudden shadow looming over him. He looked up to see his father there.

He grabbed the front of his robes and whispered something into his ear.

James Potter sat across the room. His friend Lily had just left to find one of her friends at the candy shop. He looked over as a strange man walked in. He then noticed Severus sitting alone across the room. The man grabbed him.

_No…_ he thought.

He followed the man as he dragged Severus out of the bar.

They got a few miles away from the town before James saw the man throw Severus to the ground.

James hid in the brush nearby. He couldn't risk being seen.

Severus picked himself up. He looked at the man.

"Father?" he whispered.

James nearly cried aloud when the man slapped Severus across the face. Severus didn't seem to notice, though. James knew it was an act, Severus didn't want to look weak in his father's eyes. He ignored the blood dripping from his mouth.

"There has been TALK." He said. _(A/N: I don't know what Severus's father's name is, So I'll just call him Cevro. Don't knock me for my inability to come up with a better name ;))._

__"Bad talk. About me!" he slapped Severus again. He growled as Severus looked back at him, the blood smeared across his chin.

"I've been questioned! YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ME, HAVEN'T YOU?!" he screamed, kicking Severus to the ground.

"No father…" Severus gasped, trying to stand back up. His father kicked him harder, sending him sprawling into the grass. His boot had made a crunching noise on impact, and Severus was sure one of his ribs had been broken.

Cevro looked at the ground for a moment, then picked up a sharp looking rock. He threw it at Severus, hard. It glanced off the twelve-year-olds skull, producing another trickle of blood, which soon began to bleed worse. Head wounds always bled a lot.

Cevro leaned over his gasping son and without hesitation began to hit him.

"Teach you to talk about me!" he screamed. "You've ruined my name, you little piece of shit!"

James couldn't wait any longer. He knew he didn't stand a chance against a grown man, but he could go get help.

He slipped away unnoticed. He ran full speed towards Hogsmeade. About halfway there, he began to hear horrible screams coming from where Severus was. He couldn't bring himself to think of the horrible things that must be happening for Severus to scream. He didn't scream at much of anything.

When he got to Hogsmeade, the screams were too far away to be heard.

He saw Professor McGonagall and some other teachers walking into the Three Broomsticks.

"Professor!" he screamed, running over. He was so out of breath that he could barely choke out the words.

"A man… he took Severus…" he began to sob, the reality of Severus's pain finally hitting him like a ton of bricks. "By the graveyard… I followed… beating Severus… beating him real bad… then…" his body racked with sobs. "the screams! The screams!"

Minerva's face paled, and she looked at the other teachers. They looked equally scared and concerned. Minerva remembered that the whole time Severus had been being beaten with the metal strip, he hadn't uttered a sound. What could possibly be happening?

They headed towards the graveyard as fast as their feet would carry them. About halfway there, they too, heard Severus screaming in pain somewhere in the distance. But the screams began to get softer, weaker.

When they reached the graveyard, there was nothing there. No father, and NO Severus. All they found was a small area of the yard that looked like it had been cut from a different fabric than the rest. The grass there grew red with blood. Signs of a struggle were in the glistening grass, and the smell of freshly spilt blood was almost too much to bear. And yet there were no signs of the boy who had been so brutally beaten here that the ground seemed as though one was looking through a red balloon.

************************************************

No one slept easily that night. Talk of a vicious beating and Severus's disappearance spread through the school like wildfire.

The next day, the entire school was searching for him. Many calls were made to his father, but the man claimed no knowledge of what had happened to his son, and he feigned worry.

Minerva slammed the phone down angrily. What a beastly man! How could he?! What had happened to make him so incredibly cruel and bloodthirsty?!

About halfway through the day, someone suggested the send out a search party. They thought it a novel idea, and immediately constructed a team. They went first to the forbidden forest, and what they found was terrible.

He was covered in his own blood, smeared on him like red paint. His clothes were stuck to his skin with it, and his hair was thick with it from the head wounds he had received. Deep gashes were all over his body, even on his face and across one eye. They eyeball itself seemed alright, but they couldn't be sure until they got him home. His mouth was swollen in one area where he must have been hit very hard. Bruises covered his face where there weren't cuts, and the eye that wasn't cut had a huge black eye around it. His left arm seemed to be broken. He was breathing, although so shallow it was almost inconceivable.

They put the unconscious boy on a stretcher. They could do nothing here, and were forced to take him back to the school in this condition. Students screamed at the sight of him, he was so brutally beaten that they barely recognized him.

James Potter ran up, silent. Finally, in a wavering voice he began to speak to Severus.

"Oh lord… oh dear god, what did he do to you, Severus? I told you to tell, I told you…"

Minerva took the stretcher from the shaken rescue party, and allowed James to accompany her in taking the boy to the hospital wing.

They said that they could mend the broken rib and the broken arm, but that it would be better for Severus if the other wounds healed on their own. They were many and would be a painful ordeal, but they didn't want to use too much magic on him, his tiny body might be unable to take it.

He was cleaned up and laid in one of the hospital beds. They covered him with bandages. They had to use two butterfly strips for the gash over his eye. He wouldn't be able to open it for weeks. And it wasn't even Christmas break yet. Needless to say, he would be staying at the school this Christmas.

James sat next to Severus's bed. He refused to leave the hospital wing. Remus and Sirius stayed too, to keep James company. Peter had told them he was too tired to sleep in a chair, and had slept in the dorm as usual.

Severus wasn't going to wake up for a while yet. His skin had become so, so pale. It would never reach it's full color again, but they didn't know that yet. To James, he looked like a ghost, with scarlet wounds blazing against such a paleness that you'd think he was dead.

James fell asleep, although he had meant not to. Sometime during the night he woke up. He was confused as to where he was and what had awoken him. He realized that he was in the Hospital Wing, and the events of the day flooded back to him. He realized that someone had said his name.

"James?" Severus said, almost too quiet to hear, even in the silent school.

He reached out and touched Severus's hand to let him know he was there.

"Severus!" he whispered. "How do you feel?"

"I feel pain. Everywhere... And I can't open my eye. What's going on?"

"They found you in the forest. They healed a broken rib and your broken arm. They say that your arm was broken in four places, you know."

"I know." Severus said angrily. He must have remembered the pain.

"They were concerned that since you are so small that your body might not be able to handle having all of your wounds healed at one time. Some sort of a magic overload, I guess. They decided to let these wounds heal on their own."

Severus didn't say anything. He must have been in a lot of pain. It seemed to James that every breath Severus took was agonizingly painful. And yet Severus said nothing.

James was about to ask him how he had gotten away, but then he realized that Severus didn't know he had been there. He decided his friend wouldn't like it if he knew.

"What happened, Severus?" He asked. That was a valid question, right?

"Nothing."

"Please?"

"No."

"Severus…"

"I said no. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now. I don't want to talk about it." Severus stopped talking.

James knew he was still awake. He probably hurt too much to sleep. He decided not to push it. Severus wouldn't talk about it, as he hardly talked about any of the 'punishments' he received.

Gradually, both boys drifted into the soft abyss of sleep.


	4. My Blood

_(A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I don't quite know how far I'll go with this story, but it's getting very sad. I hope that I dig myself out of this "can't stop the abusive dad" thing. I want them to catch that guy so damned bad!!!! Poor Sev, I only wish I could help him somehow! **Sniff** Believe it or not, I do not control how my stories turn. That comes from somewhere far back into the depths of my mind. Anyways, I luv ya all! **Gods, I hope this story doesn't go through his entire schooling. This is exasperating my other stories! But I'm on a trip now, I'm into the swing of this. My other stories will have to wait, I suppose!**)_

_ _

I know they don't use phones in the wizarding world, but let's just pretend they do, because there's a part where they talk on the phone, and I don't know how else they would communicate without it. I'm just stupid like that, I guess.

************************************************

"Albus! You can't be serious!" Minerva gasped.

"We have no choice."

"You want to call his father?!"

"I have to tell him we found Severus! I don't have a choice! We have to let him know Severus is alright!" 

"But Severus ISN'T alright, Albus, and you know it!"

Dumbledore sighed. "I know he's not alright. But this isn't a choice. We are required to tell Cevro that Severus is alive. We are required to offer him a chance to check up on his son."

"But it's wrong, Albus. Severus isn't ready for this yet."

"We'll hold off for a week. But that's all I can offer, Minerva."

And so they did.

************************************************

Ring… Ring… Ring…

Ka-click.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Snape?"

"Yes it is. May I help you?"

"We found your son."

"Oh, did you? That's good. I've just been SO worried!"

"He's going to be alright. Looked like he was mauled by something, though."

"But he's okay now?"

"Not yet, but he will be."

"Okay."

"We are required to provide you an opportunity to visit Severus."

"Really? Oh, when can I come?"

"Whenever you find suitable before October 24th."

"But today is the fourteenth!"

"The twenty-fourth is when he will be resuming classes."

"I see."

"Mr. Snape, do you know anyone who might be trying to hurt your son?"

"I really don't. Sounds like a psycho, though."

"Yes, he does."

"Listen, how about I come to visit on the… nineteenth?"

"That would be fine."

"Is that all?"

"There might be a nurse there. They are most of the time. You might not have a lot of privacy with your son."

"I see."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Can you describe his condition to me?"

"I suppose. There's a four inch gash across his left eye, from the top of his cheekbone to just below his hairline. He can't open his eye, yet, but after the gash heals he should be able to.

"He has several gashes on his arms and legs. There are also several head wounds. There are bruises over his face. He broke a rib and his arm was broken in three places before we healed it. The rest is going to have to heal on it's own, they are afraid to use too much magic on him, he's so small."

"Is he in much pain?"

"Yes. It will be a very painful recovery."

"Alright, then. I'll see you on the nineteenth."

"Goodbye, Mr. Snape."

"Goodbye!"

Click.

************************************************

She was upset. Why wasn't the Child Welfare department helping out? This was the worst case she had ever imagined. There had been a few cases in the past, many Slytherins had 'strict' home lives, and some had bad ones, but none so terrible as blood on white carpets.

She had the feeling Cevro had some "friends" in the Child Welfare Department.

She walked into the Hospital wing. When she walked in Severus woke up, startled at her sudden presence.

"Professor! You scared me!" he said, smiling.

"I was sent to tell you that on the nineteenth your father will be visiting."

His eyebrows flew up. "What? Why?"

"We were obligated to. School regulations."

"I don't want to see him."

"I know. We'll have a nurse about so he can't hurt you."

"He doesn't hurt me!" Severus snapped angrily.

"Oh Severus, why do you say that?!"

"Because it's true! He doesn't hurt me! He couldn't hurt me! I'm not that weak!"

"Severus, we know he hurts you! And we're working on getting him convicted!"

"Convicted?!"

"Yes!"

"I don't care! I don't need help! And he DOESN'T hurt me!"

"Severus, look at yourself! Think of how much better your life could be without any of this!"

"No, professor." He said sadly. "My life could be no better."

"I know how you feel, Severus, but you have to overcome it!"

"You don't know how I feel! Everyone thinks I am this unwanted, frail, abused child! But I'm not! Trust me! He hasn't touched a hair on my head!"

"Severus, I think I should show you something."

And so he found out about The Room.

************************************************

He was too angry to listen to Dumbledore's consolations. He would have gotten up and paced if he had had the energy. 

"Wha- WHY did you do that?!" he asked, baffled.

"We were concerned."

"Didn't you have any respect for ME? For MY feelings? How could you DO that?!"

"We had to know."

"You had to know? WHY?! That's my life! You have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER! Whatever happened to PRIVACY? Those are my thoughts, my feelings! What do you think you are doing?! You're poking your noses where they don't belong! People are questioning him! Why do you think THIS happened?" he shouted, pointing to the gash over his eye.

Minerva grimaced. Why was he taking this so badly?

Finally he pointed to the door.

"Go away!" he shouted. "Leave me alone! Never come near me again! I quit! I quit, I'll find some nice muggle school somewhere!"

They knew he would never really leave Hogwarts, but they left so he would have time to calm down.

************************************************

Minerva paced the office.

"I don't see why he's so upset!" she said finally, throwing her arms into the air. "I mean, we were HELPING him!"

"That doesn't matter to him." Dumbledore told her.

"Why not?!"

"How would you feel if someone could see everything that happened to you? Everything you did, said, or thought? Wouldn't you feel violated in the least?"

Minerva hadn't thought about that.

"We've watched him in his weakest moments, seen memories, felt his tears on our faces." Dumbledore whispered. "He thinks he's a coward. He thinks he's weak for being unable to stand up to his father. He doesn't want people to know what he thinks. We do, and it scares the life from him."

Minerva suddenly felt that what they had done was very, very wrong. But how else could they have gotten that information?

It was too late now. They had watched nearly half of the tapes between them. They couldn't change what they had done.

All they could do now was wait, and hope for the best.

************************************************

The Nineteenth 

Severus woke up at 7 am. His father wasn't here yet, thank god.

He went to the bathroom and took a shower. The hot water and soap stung badly, but he always made an effort to keep himself clean, it made them heal faster.

He got dressed and tended to the gash over his eye. They had put something called 'stitches' in, and they felt awkward. They eyelid itself was left alone, but the cut had nearly gone through it. He couldn't manage to think of what would have happened to his eye if he hadn't been attempting to pull his father's hand away from his face. The glass had cut very close anyways.

He couldn't open his eye yet, the wounds hurt to much when he did. His body had sort of shut down his eye for the time being, to keep him from moving it while it healed.

He towel dried his hair and walked into his room.

He was clean, tidy, and ready for one of the roughest days of his life.

************************************************

His father arrived around 1:30, looking cheery and excited. He kneeled down when he finally was taken to his son. He reached up and touched on of the stitches on his eye lightly.

Severus winced, unsure of what his father was doing.

"It's okay, son." He growled softly. 

Severus smiled weakly.

"Can you show me to your classes? I would like to see them."

Severus nodded, and stepped into the empty hallway.

They saw Dumbledore quite a few times, he seemed to be lurking. After a while, he stopped popping up. Maybe walking through the dungeons was too much for an old man.

The teachers of the classrooms eyed Cevro carefully as they passed, Severus showing his father his different classrooms.

"Why do they keep looking at me that way?" he whispered to his son.

"They think you caused my injuries."

Cevro stroked Severus's face with a chilling silkiness.

"Now, son… you know I would never do that…" he whispered soothingly.

Severus almost believed him. Instead, he took a step away from his father, cutting off the hypnotic touch on his face. 

"Please don't." he said shortly. He would never have dared say such a thing in his own home. But there were teachers about here, his father would never hurt him in public.

His father's rage exposed itself in the twitch of an eye, but his father put on a smug smile and continued to stroll down the hallway.

The bell rang loudly nearby. Kids walked out of their classes, eyeing Severus with sympathy and Cevro with anger.

One child, a first year, who was continually late to classes, bumped into Cevro while rushing to his class.

Cevro grabbed the boy's arm. The child looked up at him, surprised.

"Watch where you're going!" he growled. The boy nodded and pulled away from Severus's father.

Children paused in the hallway to look at the man. 

He seemed like a snake. A dark, venomous snake, who would kill you at any moment. At the same time he seemed a rose, a feathery, silky being whose purpose was to bring mystery to the world. Red velvet wrapped one when they looked at him. Soft yet deadly.

The children in the hall stopped moving. They stared at him with a sense of wonder. Who was this tall, dark stranger who scared them to their bones while alluring them?

Only three people saw him as the cobra without the rose or velvet. Severus, Albus, and Minerva. Those who had felt his bite.

************************************************

Classes were over, but Severus's father was still there. They sat on a bench in t he hallway. Children were peeking their faces from empty classrooms to look at the man.

Why did he catch them in such an enrapturing awe? Even though they knew he was a beast, they could not help but to be lost in his scarlet touch.

Severus stood up silently. A far away look was on his face.

"What are you doing, boy?" His father asked angrily, his face distorted.

"Why do you do the things you do, father?" he finally said. Hogwarts had given him courage.

"What on earth are you talking about, you silly beast?" He tried to be the 'kind father' in the eyes of the people nearby.

"I am not your whipping boy…" Severus whispered.

His father smiled, his dark hair falling in front of his face as he looked down at him.

"Don't be a fool, Severus. Of course you are." He whispered. It was disturbing the way he could say something almost lovingly, and yet it would be so vindictive as that.

"No I'm not!" Severus said.

Cevro placed a hand on Severus's shoulder. His fingers dug into his bone painfully, but one could not tell by looking that the boy was hurting.

"Don't contradict me…" his voice said.

Severus pulled away. He looked up at his father defiantly for the first time in his life. He was in no danger at Hogwarts. And if his father hurt him, he would be convicted. He smiled, his eyes glinting in supremacy. He felt fear trying to claw it's way out from him, but he roped it down. This moment was too good to waste. He couldn't live his life this way. He was stronger, right? No, he was weak. But at least he could have just once, one tiny moment of glory and rebellion. Just once…

"You're nothing, father. You will never be anything. All you are is a weak, cowardly man who can't even treat people like humans. And I am not just an object to take out your emotions on. I am strong, and you are a coward." He said.

Time seemed to slow as the impact of his words hit his father. Severus had never felt so cut in half in his life. Half of him was shrinking, cowering, hiding from the wrath of fury that would be unleashed. The other half was shining in the glory of living out his dream.

Anger twisted in his father's face. A flame grew in his eyes that always did when something truly awful was said to him.

His hand quivered, twitched. He held it, suspended in the air, as if ready to strike. He couldn't control himself.

With a roar, he brought his hand down on his son's face, knocking the boy's head sharply to one side.

The children and teachers nearby turned in horror. Did he just do what the think he did?!

Severus left his head hanging for a moment before lolling it back to stare at his father. Blood smeared from his nose to his chin.

"Now you've done it, father." He whispered. "Never again will I be your whipping boy."

His father slapped him again, oblivious to the people around him. All he could see and feel was white-hot anger, burning into his brain and skull, reducing him to nothing but rage, and the only thing in sight was his son, only one thing he could take his fury out on.

Severus brought his hand to his stinging cheek. Pain was being sent also from his eye, which had been jerked twice now. When he took it away, the thin blood pouring from his mouth and nose was on his hand.

His father was staring at him. He reached out and snatched his father's hand, which was also smeared with his son's blood. He turned it palm up.

"Father. This is their evidence. You will be locked away, far from me, forever away. And this is your conviction. My blood."

His father stared at him in horror. What on earth was Severus talking about?!

Severus didn't really know. All he knew was that he was free. A bird whose clipped feathers had grown back. 

Teachers ran up and grabbed Cevro by the arms. They dragged him away, while he stared at his son in shock. What on earth?

Severus turned to the hallway. People had left. It was empty. They were all following his father as he was carried away.

He did not. He walked to his dormitory, to clean up.

************************************************

(A/N: Wow. I don't know what this is all about. Could those words really have come from a twelve-year-old boy? I don't know. I hope I'm not finished. I will try to continue it, but this makes a good ending, ya think? However, I really don't want it to end, so lets hope some inspiration sparks! 

_Be good to your family.)_


End file.
